The echoes of our footsteps followed us through the empty corridor as Mr. Whittleby led the way to “someplace different”. He wouldn’t tell me any more than that. I followed mainly because I was interested. The whole journey had been like a dream, but otherwise without much diversion. I wondered what aliens did for entertainment, or if they needed it. I wasn’t exactly bored, but my taste for adventure had been long dormant, and now that it had awakened I felt like I had an insatiable appetite for it.

“Would you mind telling me,” I asked as we walked, “how long it will take for our broadcast to reach earth?”

“About 18 hours earth time. It’s quicker than it took us to get here, because the power source is bigger and it uses an established ion trail to conduct along. By the time you get back you’ll be a celebrity.”

“I don’t suppose you have a witness protection program or such thing as that? I might want to change my identity.”

“No need for it,”  he almost sounded annoyed, “None of our guilty get away.”

“I was only kidding.”

“So was I.” He grinned. “We catch most of them anyway.”

“What about the ones you don’t catch?”

“Wait until you witness something you need protection from. The ones we don’t catch are usually a little smarter than average and know how to keep a low profile. They also have access to shielding techniques which prevent the nullifier from functioning. From such people you have no protection anyway. The need doesn’t exist in our society.”

Now that my curiosity was aroused I couldn’t drop the subject.  “Do you have much of a problem with crime?”

“No, not really. Most members of our society recognize the value of compliance and cooperation. In the long run, far greater gains are made socially by these than by  anarchy. At present we have relatively few dissidents, but many competitors. You have more to fear from a competing trade organization, than from anarchy within this present system.”

We rounded a corner and he palmed a door which dissolved in response.  It revealed a large chamber filled floor to ceiling with all manner of objects. None of them had an identifiable shape or purpose.

“Welcome to our catalogue,” he said. “It isn’t what you’d think of normally as a catalogue, but this is our version. In this room is a nearly complete inventory of all trade items bought and sold in the current Galactic economy.

“Each item has an accompanying interactive-holo demo which tells about the object, technical specifications, where it is produced, and how to purchase it. Would you like to see more?”

“How could I refuse?” I asked. Indeed I knew right away that it would take nothing less than utter annihilation to keep me from this room once I knew what it contained.

He led the way to the center aisle and went to a podium which stood there alone. When he placed his palm on it, the surface illuminated and a series of symbols lit up highlighted against the background. At the same time the room lighting dimmed. There was still light enough to see, but the displays were now shadowed in the dim light.

“What would you like to see?” he asked. “All you have to do is specify an area of interest and the archive does the rest for you.”

“How about space transportation? I’d like to know what’s available out there,” I responded. I earnestly wanted to know what types of space vehicles were adaptable for future earth use. “Do they spell out terms of sale?”

“Every condition needed for a sale will be in the files you pull up when you examine their product.”

He passed his hand down the screen and the characters scrolled in response. He finally stopped and fingered a selection which blinked and then vanished from the screen. Across the room, near the middle of the second aisle, an object lit up, bathed in a mild green light. “Let’s go look at it shall we?” He led the way across the room and allowed me to go first down the aisle to the object in question.

“When you pick up the model you activate the archive. Any question you ask from then on will be sorted according to type of detail you request. You will either see a demo holo or be given a V.R. option.”

I picked up the demo, a model of a type of spacecraft,  wondering what the V.R. option was and asked Mr. Whittleby, “What’s the V.R. option?”

Before he could answer, a hologram appeared in front of me about the size of a doorway. I heard a command in English, “Step in.” I looked at Mr. Whittleby and he nodded assent. Obediently I entered the hologram and my world changed instantly.

I was standing on the flight deck of an alien craft unlike anything I had seen so far.  In  the distance in front of me I could see a high curving wall reaching over my head and extending behind me. The ends looked to be nearly a mile away. It felt like being in a giant Quonset hut looking at it from the middle of one side on the inside. Spread across the floor were dozens of craft, some not much bigger than a basketball, others almost the size of an aircraft carrier.

“Where am I?” I asked without thinking.

The same voice answered me, “You’re in the showroom of Polaris Transportation Systems. Which category of craft are you interested in?”

“What are my options?” I asked.

“We start with our three main categories, Military, Commercial, and Private. Which of these areas are you interested in?”

“Military,” I said without hesitating.

“I’m sorry,  I can’t show you this area without proper authentication.”

“That’s OK, I didn’t expect it anyway. Let me see what you have in the Private category.”

At once the lights dimmed, and nearly half the craft in the room lit up, standing out against the rest. A small platform appeared in front of me and the voice told me to step up. I did and it took me to the nearest craft.

It was about the size of the boat we had rented at the metro marina. “This is an inter-planetary jump vessel, solely intended to operate within the same star system. It has no long range capability, but greatly enhances the owner’s ability to travel quickly within his own star system. It has no re-entry capability, and must be kept in orbit. It uses matter teleportation devices to get from ship to planet, and from planet to ship.”

“Do you have any star capable ships with the same capabilities?”

About  two-thirds of the highlighted ships lost their highlights, leaving nearly a couple of dozen left to choose from. I saw one across in the distance that appealed to me for some reason and I requested to go see it. It was almost the same size as the one Mr. Whittleby had transported me in.

“ A good choice for rapid travel, as well as re-entry capability. It is the fastest interstellar craft made, and possesses the latest in our line of technological enhancements. It will out-fly and out-maneuver any military craft made to date. It also has the teleportation feature you were interested in.”

“Can I go in?”

A port opened on the side and my platform moved me closer, and lifted me up so that I was level with the opening. I stepped in and the door closed behind me.

“Where’s the control room?”

“Follow the guide path.”

In front of me the floor lit up in a series of vertical strobes pointing me forward. I followed the direction they seemed to strobe in and went around a corner to a room that was like the inside of a large drum. I entered and the door closed behind me. I felt myself go up one level and the walls of the drum lifted away revealing a circular room about 12 feet in diameter. Holo displays surrounded me, showing me views outside from various points on the ship.

How do you navigate this ship?” I asked, not expecting to understand the explanation.

“Step up to the console in front of you.”

I complied and a holoscreen appeared in front of me. On it, various pictures of star systems began to appear.  Selections, which to any other eye may have been familiar, gave me no further knowledge than I’d started with, other than there was an incredible variety of travel options before me.

“How would I travel to my own planet?” I asked. “Is my star system in your navigation  records?”

“No, but I can access the mothership you’re on for that information. Would you like that?”

“Yes, go ahead.” I wanted to see a more practical demonstration.

The holoscreen cleared a moment and then a fast forward replay of my exit from our solar system appeared. The screen then partitioned into three sections. The upper showed our solar system in exaggerated relative position to the galactic plane. The second showed the orbital position of the planets around the sun. The third showed our relative position now.

“All you have to do is touch the star system you wish to travel to and the navigator will do the rest. If you wish to enter the system you may further define your destination by designating which planet you wish to orbit.”

“That’s easy!” I exclaimed. “A child could do it.”

“Our systems are designed for simplicity, because most of our users don’t have the skills needed to navigate even within their own system.”

“Once I am where I want to go, how do I leave the orbiting ship to go someplace on the planet?” I asked.

“Call up the teleport screen and enter the destination mode. A map will appear in global form. All you need to do is touch the relative area of the globe you wish to teleport to and that area will enlarge allowing you to get progressively, more and more specific.”

“Ok, bring up the teleport screen.”

The screen next to the navigation console cleared its view of the outside, and a hologram of the earth appeared. It spun slowly, and I noticed that it began to emerge gradually from the screen matrix and appeared to float in front of me. I could look down on it, or crawl under it and see it from the bottom. As it spun I saw the North American continent turning in front of me, and I touched the area where I knew the Metro lay.

The globe vanished and relief map appeared. I scanned it and at last saw the right spot for the Metro area. I touched it and the map got more detailed, enabling me to quickly pinpoint the Metro. I touched it again and an aerial view of the Metro replaced the previous map. Scanning the streets, I saw the area of my office and touched it. The view vanished and  I found myself looking down at the block my office building was located on. I touched the sidewalk area in front of my office and the resolution increased until I could see the revolving doors.

“You have reached the maximum resolution possible allotted to you given your body characteristics. If you desire further display changes you must submit a structural plan to the system memory. It will then allow you to select any point within a given structure to be accessible to you.”

“No, that’s OK. How do I transport once I’ve designated the location?”

“Step back to the entry port.”

I complied by stepping back to the area I’d been in when I emerged into the control room.

“When you are ready, just notify the control center, and you will be downsent.”

“OK, I’m ready.” I knew  this was a demo, but I wanted to see what would happen.

My vision shimmered a moment, then I was surrounded by a field of blue energy, much like the one I’d seen surround Mr. Whittleby on the other ship just before he merged with the navigation system. The control room vanished, and was replaced by the close quarters of a packed cargo hold. The energy field vanished.

Surrounding me on every side was stack upon stack of packed and crated objects. Some of the packing containers had writing on them. Others had holoscreens which were probably intended to list the contents and give handling instructions. The lighting was poor, but what I could see of the containers, and the writing on those which had it, I could tell immediately that this place had no earthly origin.

“Where am I?” I asked. I got no answer but silence.

“OK, the V.R. demo is over. I want to go back to the catalogue room now.”

The silence was piercing. No field shimmered at my request, no computer generated voice responded to my aid. I was utterly alone in an alien place with not even the comfort of Mr. Whittleby to help me feel secure. Worse, I didn’t know how I had gotten here, or even where “here” was. All I knew was that something had gone terribly wrong, and the demo program had transported me somewhere that I wasn’t intended to be. Remembering my earlier thirst for adventure, I felt somewhat chastised. I certainly had an adventure now, and wanted no part of it.

Fighting the rising feeling of panic, I began to look for an exit. I walked down the closely spaced aisle until I came to a wall, and then began to walk along it looking for some evidence of a passage. It occurred to me that I might need to find my way back to my entry point, and I went back to the aisle I had emerged from, took down a crate that looked like it could be easily moved, and blocked the aisle with it.

I then turned around and resumed my search for a way out. I walked for what  seemed like a long time before I found something that looked promising. A pad stood out from the wall. It was about the size of a notebook. I couldn’t see any buttons on it and wondered if it was touch activated.

I reached up and put my palm to the surface as I’d seen Mr. Whittleby do and it lit up. Symbols appeared, and I knew I was in trouble because I had no way of knowing what to do from here. As I stood there watching it, wondering what to do, it started scrolling automatically. I kept watching it and pictures began to appear, like icons on my computer screen. One icon, which reminded me of a conference room  layout, appeared at the bottom of the screen, and began to scroll up. Since it was the only thing which I thought might be linked to some other place,  I touched it, and waited to see what happened.

I didn’t have long to wait. A portion of the wall opened up about ten feet away to my right, and I went through the opening before someone decided to have a change of heart. The musty smelling corridor I was in was lined with  tapestries, like the halls of some medieval castle. It was even shaped like something in a castle, with a rounded  ceiling,  flat walls and floor all made of marbled stone. The passage behind me closed as I began to explore this alien place.

A passage opened up to my right and I entered it. In front of me was a massive door which swung open as I approached. I entered a cavernous room with a high vaulted ceiling, tapestried walls, inlaid marble floors, and in the center stood a raised marble platform. On it stood a table, ornate with carved reliefs and gilt edges. Two empty chairs were placed there.

No one was in the room but me,  but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t alone. Not having any better idea what to do, I went to the marble podium, stepped up and began to examine the table, admiring its workmanship. The carving was exquisite. It was also unearthly, possessing no familiar pattern or feature in common with anything I’d seen done in ancient or contemporary work. The material seemed to be a type of stone, but one I hadn’t seen before. It resembled a blend of obsidian and jade. It was quite beautiful and I wondered where it came from.

I was so engrossed in looking at the table that I almost didn’t notice the glow of an energy field activating near me. I looked up in time to see something materializing near the chair across from me.

I was about to meet my second alien in about as many hours. In front of me sat a creature which resembled a bear in shape with no hair, but beaded skin instead. It had two arms with four fingered hands, one of which held a device similar to Mr. Whittleby’s nullifier thing. Its eyes regarded me with an unblinking gaze, and held no threat that I could sense. They had pupils like a cat’s. It wore a vest which had some type of insignia or mark of rank on the left shoulder. It pressed a button on the side of the device it held and set it on the table in front of it.

“Welcome to my home. I hope you didn’t find your journey too unpleasant.”

It showed a row of even teeth as it spoke. It had no canines as I would have thought. “My name is Pralt which means Cheer in your language,” he continued. “I’m sure you must be wondering where you are and why you’re here.”

“The thought has crossed my mind more than once lately,” I admitted reservedly. I wasn’t about to get chummy with what I now suspected was my kidnapper.

“You’re now on the planet Nardis, on the outer rim of the galaxy from where you were downsent. You’re here because we wish for you to have a chance to see some alternatives before you sign a contract with Intergal. Don’t judge us too harshly before you have a chance to hear us out.”

“Isn’t it illegal to kidnap someone in this society?” I asked. I couldn’t possibly believe that any civilized people would allow kidnapping to flourish within its social framework.

“Oh yes, it’s quite illegal. I’d be ashamed of myself if I had done so. You’re the unfortunate victim of a computer virus left by an unscrupulous programmer. He was rumored to have left the virus hidden in the demo program you were using. Of course, we all thought it was just hearsay until you triggered the virus to activate by having the system demo a “downsend” command. We’ll be glad to return you to your point of origin as soon as we can. Unfortunately, all of our resources are tied up right now, and it will be a day or two before we can return you to your ship.”

“Well, whoever you represent, you are certainly resourceful,” I replied. “I’m sure that the convenience of this ‘virus’ landing me at your doorstep at such a time shouldn’t be allowed to pass without taking undue advantage of it.” Having no better option, I decided to play along for now. I wondered if this creature in front of me could recognize sarcasm.

“We were hoping you’d see it our way. I represent TranSystem Enterprises. Since you’ll be our guest for the next day or two, perhaps you’ll allow me to show you around.”

Pralt stood up, retrieved his nullifier, and gestured for me to follow. He stood just a shade over seven feet tall, towering over me by a foot. His lower body was clothed in pants which allowed a ‘thick tail to protrude. It was about two feet in length, and beaded like the rest of its skin.

He stepped down from the marble platform and led the way across the hall. I followed, full of questions I didn’t dare ask yet. I knew that my kidnapping had been carefully arranged, and that there probably wasn’t a chance that I’d be rescued, or that my kidnappers would be brought to whatever justice existed in the galactic system. They’d planned too well for any proof to be left lying at their door. I was outraged at the situation I was in. I was also wary of causing offense, and making a bad situation worse.

Pralt opened a door which led to an open courtyard. It was daylight outside, the sky was blue and the air was fresh. Mossy looking growths were arranged in a geometrical pattern in various places throughout the courtyard, giving the place a well manicured appearance. I could see the tops of some clouds above the wall of the courtyard. Some type of climbing vine was interlaced on two of the walls, with rounded leaves, green with purple striations in color. In the distance, somewhere on the other side of the wall, I could hear the raucous noise of an unknown animal. It sounded birdlike, but a bit deeper in pitch. I wondered if we were going to go outside the courtyard at all, or if I was fated to spend my time cooped up in some sort of alien dungeon. I decided to probe a bit more deeply to see what his motives were for keeping me here.

“Tell me why TranSystem Enterprises is so interested in what Intergal is doing that I’m here under these circumstances.” I pretended a half hearted interest in the courtyard foliage.

“ I don’t know how much your Intergal representative has told you yet about the workings of an inter-galactic trade contract. At the risk of seeming to be evasive, let me say that there are extremely complex issues related to resource allocation and exploitation. There is an ongoing dispute right now between Intergal and TranSystem over how each other acquires rights to market inter-system resources.

“The current accepted standard is to file claims on various star systems. If that area has marketable resources, well and good. If that area should have a developed civilization,  the resources are off limits to all until  that civilization is party to any forthcoming trade agreements.
 
“ What makes your system unique to this norm, is that no claims have been filed on your system. You simply weren’t known about until recently. You were discovered when you announced yourselves. At that moment a trade agreement became the only viable option for resource development within your system. No claims could be made because your planet has sole proprietary rights. You have the rights to negotiate, or to claim sole possession of all your resources,  and declare your system off limits.”

I could see the logic in what Pralt was saying, but wasn’t able to pinpoint the issue that lay between Intergal and TranSystem. I decided to ask. “That all sounds reasonable to me. What’s the real nature of your enmity with Intergal?”

He hesitated before answering, “ The issue is basically that we disagree on who should be allowed to make offers and counter-offers, of course. We believe the field should be absolutely open, with all players competing on equal ground. Intergal believes that they as first-comers should have foremost say in everything, as well as the initial try at a contract.”

Pralt came to a massive heavily barred door and touched a marbled stone on the arch leading to it. The bar retracted into the wall and the door swung outward. We stood in the opening for a moment as I took in the scenery. As far as I could see, jungle like growth covered the area. We were on the top of a long sloping ridge, which molded onto a series of rounded hills with outcroppings of weathered rock sticking up through the jungle canopy like weary sentinels standing guard over the terrain.

In the distance I could see something flying with an enormous wingspread. It flapped its wings with slow graceful strokes, almost as though it did so out of habit more than necessity. The air was humid and clouds were building up on the horizon. It was impossible to see more than a few miles through the haze.

A road led the way from the door into the thick of the jungle. The road remained clear of foliage as far as I could see. It had no joints or seams, apparently made of one solid slab, yet had the same marbled appearance as the building stones which the walls were built of. I heard the deep birdlike cry again in the distance, and it sounded like it could have come from the creature I saw soaring  in the distance. I wondered how large it was up close.

I marveled how similar this planet was to earth and yet so different. The jungle was lush and green, filled with broad leafed plants, hanging creepers, flowers peeking out from between the leaves in places, and tall wide trunked trees. And yet there was the feel of something different.  I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly other than none of the plants and trees looked like anything I’d seen before. I could have said the same though of earth. I had never seen a jungle there either, and thus had nothing to compare it to.

The similarity to our own forms of life made me wonder just how unique we really were back home. Perhaps there was some type of developmental norm that a planet with given characteristics was capable of producing. Perhaps a planet with a sun like ours, and an atmosphere like ours was destined to produce life forms that followed similar anatomical rules. Or perhaps our common Creator saw fit to extend His success to other regions of space as well and made us all from a similar mold.

I was interrupted in my musings by Pralt who asked, “ Would you care to walk with me to our trade headquarters? You can’t see it from here but it lies in a village just past the second ridge over there.” He pointed to an area near one of the stone uprisings.
I wasn’t eager to meet anyone else from the competition just yet, but being here was beginning to look a little more interesting. Besides, Pralt had been unfailingly polite, even if he’d  had a hand in my kidnaping as I supposed.

I didn’t think the circumstances necessitated such subterfuge to get me to the negotiating table with them, and wasn’t at all sure what kind of agreement they would consider worthy of honoring if they had a tendency toward underhanded dealings in their business practices. I finally said, “Well I’d probably enjoy a closer look at the jungle. Is there anything there that might be a danger to me?”

“Not on the road,” Pralt  answered without hesitation. There are security devices built into the road which keep intruders off of it. Wild beasts which might otherwise be harmful are deterred by devices which function similar to our translation equipment. A warning of danger is broadcast to their minds and they invariably stay away.”

“That sounds pretty humane.” I wondered if their intruder devices worked on humans.

We stepped away from the door and it swung shut behind us as we began our walk toward the outlying jungle. I heard the bar slip into place behind us. It occurred to me that as fortress like as the place was, it had to be designed for protection from something. I wondered if it was wild beasts or uncivilized beings that the fortress was built to protect from.

I also was curious why I had arrived in an obvious warehouse, when Pralt had said that it was his home. Perhaps his business was partly run from his home. Whatever the circumstance, it was obvious that Pralt had a lavish residence and had spared no effort to beautify it.

I accompanied him without questions for a while. I was still uncertain how I’d be treated here, and whether I’d be released as promised if I failed to agree to meet them at the negotiating table back on Earth. Pralt seemed kind but I didn’t have the trust for him that I did for Mr. Whittleby. I decided to hear them out before I came to any decisions.

We reached the first growths of the jungle. A stream lay before us which I’d been unable to see from above because of the angle of the hill. The road crossed it and curved gently into the tree line, still as seamless as it had been at the top. As we crossed the water I could see little swirls and rapids where it rushed by the rocks in its bed. There was no sign of any water creatures that I could see. But then, I didn’t know what to look for either.

Overhead the canopy of growth got progressively higher and thicker, until I could no longer see either the sky or the tops of the trees. Their trunks were enormous, some of them large enough to comfortably live in. All around me was the soft muted light cast by the sun filtering through green foliage. The smells were mixtures of rotting vegetation, heady perfume of some exotic flower types, and the herbal fragrances of unknown plants.

Something skittered  across a clump of dead vegetation to my left, but it moved so quickly I was unable to get a clear view of it. What I saw of it reminded me of a cross between an armadillo and a trilobite. Before I could ask what it was, I heard a rustling in the leaves above my head and looked up to see what it was.

All around me the leaves were beginning to drip, and I realized that it was beginning to rain. We continued to walk as the canopy overhead set up a steady dripping. It began to get humid. Pralt and I stayed dry, though the foliage and ground to each side of the road were wet. The road itself was dry. I wondered about it momentarily, then decided that it must be a secondary function of the road’s shielding. Pralt had said the road had features built in that discouraged intruders, and this must be part of the effect. I was grateful for it.

For some time we continued on in silence, broken only by the continual dripping of the rain in the leaves. The road seemed to meander between the largest trees. We were climbing gradually and eventually crested a rise. There was no view because the trees were too close and tall.

As the novelty of my circumstances wore off, I began to consider seriously my situation and wondered again how I would get back to Mr. Whittleby. It was strange to see him as an anchor point, yet he represented more familiarity than I had here, thus a greater level of security. I wanted to know more about what was expected of me here, and about TranSystem. I believed Pralt would answer my questions, but wasn’t sure I’d get the truth.

At last I broke the silence by asking, “Could you tell me more about your company? You said that Intergal came first. How long has TranSystem been going?”

“I’m not sure what time measurements you’re used to, so I’d say that TranSystem is roughly a third of Intergal’s age.”

“How did you start?”

“Much the same way that Intergal did, with the exception that it didn’t take nearly as long to form our support base. There were many who were affronted by the monopolistic practices of Intergal,  who were only too ready to negotiate a better deal with us.

“We were up and running before Intergal could sour the negotiations. They tried initially to bankrupt us by deluging us with legal fees in courts  all across the galaxy, but were unable to sway the courts to agree that we’d improperly taken away their clientele. The courts ruled in our favor each time because we were able to demonstrate that each client who joined our trade organization did so by free choice.

“We were also helped by the overall disparity between  systems. Had there been a single regulatory entity to deal with we might not have ever gained legitimacy, for Intergal held too much sway. Dealing on the local level evened up the odds in our favor for we were dealing with systems that had no love for Intergal’s heavy handed negotiations.”

“Do you mean to say that there is no single government or regulatory agency to go to for disputes of this type?” I had vaguely imagined a centralized galactic government which Intergal was regulated by.

“Oh no, you’d be talking about an empire of horrible proportions. The closest thing to it is the Grand Empire of Sirius, and even they are not so presumptuous as to assume dominion over the entire galaxy. They brag about how great they are, and hold a lot of sway, but in reality are only a speck in the cosmos. Their influence only extends to about a hundred star systems. I’d have to say that the single most common characteristic of intergalactic government right now is anarchy.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is no uniform code of justice, or standard for arbitration, or  regulation of  trade and commerce, or any forum for interstellar disputes. All of these require some form of governing body which applies a uniform law to all alike. In the absence of this Intergal has stepped in. In most stellar systems, Intergal is both trade partner and arbitrator. Intergal is the law of the galaxy, and answers to none but itself.

“Anarchy is the absence of law, or the failure of government to enforce it. In either situation, what the individual decides is right becomes the standard. In the galactic community there is anarchy because there is no single galactic government to enforce a uniform code of ethics. Thus the individual stellar system  can impose its own standards  in all  it’s dealings with outsiders, making compromises that would be acceptable to one system, and offensive to the point of provoking war with another. The sole stabilizing factor in this picture has been Intergal, and their profit margin is their chief interest in maintaining stability.”

“What’s wrong with that if it works?” I accepted the philosophy that if something wasn’t broken why fix it.

“What’s wrong with it is that no one has given Intergal the authority to regulate. We don’t believe it’s their place. They are functioning more like an imperial government than a trade organization.”

“How are you different in your bargaining positions?”

He looked at me a moment, as though he couldn’t believe I was as naive as I appeared to be, then continued, “For one thing, we don’t exact as high a price for our services. Surely you can see the value of competition.”

We’d been winding through the trees so constantly that I almost didn’t notice the road leveling out. Now though, I could tell that we’d finished going downhill and had leveled off. The rain quit, but the dripping continued. A little farther on I could see that the trees got thinner, and more light was getting through.
 
When we reached the area of thinner vegetation, the road straightened out and ahead I could a clearing. We emerged from the jungle so abruptly it was almost like walking out of a tunnel into the daylight. The clouds had moved on and the sun was overhead shining brightly.

Several clusters of outlying buildings stood near the road, which branched to accommodate their entries. They were built of the same type of stone as the road and Pralt’s castle. The builders favored rounded corners, avoiding sharp corners on all edges. Each building was four sided with a pyramidal roof  that had a blunt rounded point.

The entry ways were arched like those in Pralt's castle and  none of the structures had windows. All had only the one visible  entrance. On the other side of the clearing next to the treeline stood a larger structure, resembling a domed arena. It had a recessed amphitheater surrounding it, with planter boxes arranged in geometric patterns at various points around the recessed area. There were several entryways evenly spaced around the dome, each with an arched opening. Above each entry was the same emblem which Pralt wore emblazoned on his shoulder.

The road branched and circled around the dome. Steps led down from the road level into the recessed area opposite each door entry, flanked on each side by a planter box filled with lush greenery. The whole effect was at once eye pleasing, and opulent in a simple way.

Pralt led the way across the clearing to the dome, and together we went down the steps to the nearest opening. About ten feet of tunnel lay before us, ending at a solid wall, which slid open as we approached.

We entered a circular room considerably smaller than the building we were in. A conference table was in the center of the room, surrounded by stone seats of the same material as the table I’d seen at Pralt’s castle. All the seats had plush cushions and looked comfortable.

Seated around the table were more creatures like Pralt, wearing garb of similar style with the same insignia on the shoulder. There were two empty seats. Next to the empty seats sat two other creatures, both different from the others. They were fur covered, had shorter stature, and longer tails. Their faces were more catlike but they had hands like humans with five fingers, though fur covered. They wore the same uniform as Pralt and the others in the room.

As we approached the table all arose in unison, seized their tails in their right hands, and then bowed low folding their tails up against their sides as they did so.

On the opposite side of the table from us, standing unbowed, was a creature like Pralt though dressed in a different uniform. I decided that he must be the leader of this organization, or at least higher up in the hierarchy.

“Welcome Pralt,” he said as all the others stood erect again. He turned to me and said, “Welcome, Cole from Earth. We hope you find your stay here on Nardis enjoyable, even if less than desirable.”

He sat, and the others all followed suit. Pralt approached the table and took a seat leaving me an empty one next to one of the furred creatures. I sat feeling less than comfortable though the seat was plush. I felt like I was under the spotlight, and didn’t like it very much.

“Cole, creature from Earth, we have assembled here today to give you a chance to consider TranSystem as a trade partner in all your negotiations pertaining to intergalactic commerce. I am Jerris, Prime Executive of TranSystem Enterprises.

“Joining us at the conference table are Sub-Executive Pralt whom you’ve already met, my board of advisors, and two of our stockholders, Chirt and Trill from Aldebaran.”

I stood up, bowed and thanked him for the introductions and resumed my seat. There was a titter of muffled reactions from some of those assembled and then all got silent again as he resumed speaking.

“I understand that you are less than fortunate in being here under these circumstances, and TranSystem intends to mitigate that by extending to you our warmest hospitality during your time here. We earnestly hope that you enjoy your stay, and that this time is productive for us all.”

He sat forward slightly and touched the top of his table. At once the room darkened considerably, and a hologram appeared on the center of the table. It expanded slightly and I could discern what I now believed to be the TranSystem logo, part of which was on the insignia of each shoulder patch in the room.

A voice began speaking introducing TranSystem, and heralding its accomplishments. Pictorials appeared along with the audio, illustrating in 3-d the various points being made. It was a fairly well done presentation, but lacked any real depth to it, more designed to put TranSystem in as good a light as possible without revealing any of its inner workings.

At the end, Jerris restored the lights and made a few brief comments about the benefits to be gained by working with TranSystem. He then turned to me and asked, “What do you think of our little promotional?”
 
“As  an advertiser I’d have to say that you did an excellent job,” I replied. “However, I’d still like to know more about the negotiating process. I’d also like for you all to realize that I’m in no position to negotiate with you. I have no authority vested in me by my government to make any agreements binding or otherwise.

“My sole purpose in my contact with Intergal is to bring my planet to awareness of the existence of potential friends and allies in the intergalactic community. My primary concern is to sell our people on the idea of doing trade with extraterrestrial beings. Up until now Intergal has furnished my only contact with members of the intergalactic trade community.”

“We understand your position,” he replied. “What we desire most from you is that you would consider all the alternatives before deciding which company you will promote. Whatever Intergal offers you personally to promote their welfare we will double, if you agree to represent us to your leadership upon your return.”

“Suppose I decide to chose Intergal?” I asked.

“We naturally would view that as most unfortunate,” he responded after a moment. “However let me reassure you that there will be no attempt made at coercion.”

“I think it’s only fair to warn you that there are those in my government who will look upon Intergal more favorably than your company because of how I got here. It might work more to your favor, if you hasten my return to where I belong.”

I didn’t feel a bit embarrassed by my shameless pitch for a timely return. I certainly wasn’t going to recommend them to anyone because of their duplicity in getting me here. I was afraid to tell them outright that they had no chance, preferring to hedge and lead them on. I hoped to stall until I either had no choice but to refuse, or was able to leave with the question of my support unresolved. I had the feeling though that they were good at backing their opponents into corners, and would probably not let me go without making some kind of declaration.

“Your return is being arranged as expeditiously as possible. Please excuse us for a moment while we converse in our own language for a time.”

He touched a button on the translator and the room was silent for a moment. Then, as they spoke, I heard the harsh sounds of their real voices for the first time. Some of their sounds could not have been duplicated by the human voice. Other gutturals were so harsh and gravely, that while in range of our capability, they would have ruined the voice of any who tried to imitate them.

Several of the Nardisians around the room, including Pralt appeared to be having a heated debate. The two from Aldebaran were mostly silent, though one of them contributed a comment now and then. After a last brief flurry of comments all around, Jerris restored the translation function and I became privy to whatever decision had been made.

Jerris sat there a moment as though to think about what he wanted to say, then said, “I know you want to return soon, but we can’t have a ship here any earlier than tomorrow at this time. We’ll see that you are given suitable accommodations during your stay. Chirt and Trill have agreed to accompany you to your quarters and help ensure that everything is to your satisfaction. I hope this meets your approval. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I’ll just have to accept it and make the most of it. If your accommodations are as good as you are gracious, I should be quite comfortable.”

Jerris rose and everyone around the table arose with him. All of them performed the same bow, then filed from the room leaving me alone with Chirt and Trill. Pralt had been the last to leave, but didn’t give me so much as a backward glance.

“Well they sure seemed to be in a hurry,” I commented. “I wonder why they couldn’t just send me back the way I got here.”

“They have no matter teleportation ability on this planet. You took a one way ride to get here. The only way for you to get off this planet is by ship,” Chirt replied.

“You mean there isn’t one in Pralt’s warehouse?” I asked half seriously.

I must have struck a raw nerve,  for Chirt hissed and Trill said quickly, “We’d best not talk about that here.”

Chirt said, “I agree. Let’s see you to your quarters.”

I wondered if I’d said something wrong at first as I followed them out, then realized I’d blundered into an area which was probably not intended for me to know about.

We exited through the tunnel I’d entered in by with Pralt. The Nardisians were nowhere to be seen. We crossed the clearing to one of the strange windowless buildings, and I thought that they were as good a substitute for a dungeon as could be found above ground. The only entry was a single door which opened onto the walk which joined the road.

Either they were very security conscious here or they  had something to hide, which may have amounted to the same thing. The door opened as we approached, and we entered a well lit and spacious room furnished for comfort. The furniture was the same carved stone I’d seen  and appreciated at Pralt’s and the conference hall. The cushions were plush, and the floor was a beautiful mosaic of inlaid marble, forming a picture of a type of creature that I hadn’t seen yet. The company logo was prominent at each corner of the mosaic, and geometric designs bordered the edges. The effect was good. Tapestries hung from the walls. The ceiling was arched above and seemed to glow with its own light, muted so that it was easy on the eye. Though no windows were visible from the outside, there were two on each wall giving a splendid view of the surrounding area. I wondered how they had achieved that. Then I remembered my trip from Earth and realized that it must be a form of the same technology.

Chirt and Trill crossed the room and made themselves comfortable on a plush seat large enough for them both to sit together. I sat down across from them, wondering what to do next with all the time I had on my hands.

Trill broke the silence first. “It was better to leave there than say anymore about what you saw in Pralt’s fortress. You were not supposed to see what you did, and there would be serious repercussions if it were discovered where you were actually downsent to.”

“You mean I wasn’t supposed to end up there?” I asked. Up till now I believed that my being here had been contrived deliberately by Pralt.

“Not in that room, no. You were supposed to end up in the room where Pralt found you, and it’s fortunate for us all that you found your way there in time. We had to give your mind a little nudge to help you find your way.”

It took a moment to digest that one, and then I realized that they must be telepathic. Either that or the same technology which allows them to read minds must be capable of more than passive observation. I decided not to pursue the issue just yet.

“What do you mean fortunate for us all? What’s going on anyway?” I didn’t like having my suspicions verified. I’d known something was wrong, but these two were acting like there was actual danger involved.

“We are private detectives hired by Intergal to investigate the piracy of some of their shipments. We long suspected that Pralt was a key player in the piracy ring which TranSystem operates, but until you gave us the opportunity to  kidnap you, we had no proof,” Trill explained.

“You see, Pralt hired us to kidnap you when he heard through his sources that an Intergal representative would be contacting someone from your planet and taking them to Intergal’s headquarters for preliminary talks. He thinks we’re only a couple of wealthy computer hackers, who have invested in what we are supposed to think is a fairly legitimate company with some aggressive marketing strategies. It was we who planted the virus in the demo program you were using. In fact, we planted more than one in hopes that somewhere you would stumble on it sooner or later. Your Intergal representative was briefed beforehand on what would happen. We apologize for our duplicity, especially in that we were unable to tell you in advance. You had to be innocent of any guile when dealing with Pralt so that his suspicions were not aroused.” Chirt sat back after relating this explanation to me and snuggled a little closer to Trill.

“You mean that you planted the virus purposely to not only bring me here, but to send me to Pralt’s warehouse?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just go see for yourselves what was there?”

“No one but Pralt goes there. It’s one of TranSystem’s most closely guarded secrets. None of our scanners have been able to get a reading on what the interior of his fortress is like. You’re now the only one who has actually seen what’s in there other than Pralt and Jerris. We sent you there to witness what’s there so that you can help us break this piracy ring.”

“I don’t suppose that it occurred to you that we might all be in greater danger now?” I asked. I was beginning to get just a little paranoid. “What keeps them from eavesdropping on us right now? Don’t they have the ability to hear everything we say and think?”

“Indeed they do anywhere but here,” replied Chirt. “This is their base of operations, and they conduct all their business and daily affairs under shield. The same shield that provides cover for their activities enables us to operate undetected as well. They’ve got listening devices they’ll sometimes use, but we’ve scanned for them and rendered them inoperable.”

“So how do I get home with all this vital information you have gambled on retrieving?”

“We take you after we arrange for a suitable accident to befall you,” Trill answered. “You see they know already that you won’t agree to give a good recommendation about their front company. That leaves coercion as their only option. They’ve decided to hold your life as ransom for your cooperation.”

“You mean that if I don’t cooperate they intend to kill me?”

“They intend to scare you,” Chirt replied. “They planned for one us to pretend to turn traitor and tell you that they had decided that you were unsuitable and would be killed before morning. You were then to be told that your only hope of escape was to seek refuge in the jungle. You would be led into the jungle only to be abandoned at the right time then ‘captured’ by one of them. They would reassure you that they had changed their minds and that they had decided to let you live in exchange for your pledge of support.”

“How are we going to get out of here without going through this charade,” I asked. I had heard so much intrigue in a short time my head was spinning.

“Simple really. We are going into the jungle. Our ship is scheduled to retrieve us tonight. They should be plenty surprised when none of us shows for the final event, but they’ll never suspect what happened. We’re going to leave some very convincing evidence behind that a predator got us all.”

“The evidence wouldn’t be convincing unless there really were predators out there. So how do you intend to insure our safety, and at the same time convince them that we have indeed become something’s lunch?” I asked.

“We’re going to leave behind our security devices for them to find,” Chirt  explained. “Without them we’d have no way of keeping a dangerous animal at a distance. It would only be a matter of time before one found us.”

“How do you intend to keep one from doing so?”

“We have another way to protect us from them.”

“Fine, so when do we leave,” I asked. Their revelations had the ring of truth to them, and I decided that I’d just have to gamble and go along with them.

“Tonight, after dark. Perhaps you’d like to eat and rest first,” Trill responded.

“Nothing would please me more.”